The PM needs to get his priorities right.
Being PM is certainly a stressful job, and it’s necessary to take a break once in a while for physical and mental healthy.
But there’s a time and a place for ‘personal days.’
And sometimes, regardless of what else is happening, a PM needs to step up and fulfill their duty.
That is most important when it comes to honouring those who died in service to our country.
That should be the most basic test of whether a PM is able to truly represent Canada and show respect for those who put it all on the line.
Justin Trudeau failed that test.
As reported by Siddak Ahuja of The Post Millennial, Justin Trudeau took a ‘personal day,’ instead of attending the return of Bombardier Patrick Labrie’s remains:
“The body of Canadian Armed Forces Bombardier Patrick Labrie, who was killed during a NATO exercise last week in Bulgaria, was returned to Ottawa on Saturday for a memorial service. However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present to pay his respects.”
Trudeau had nothing else scheduled, as confirmed by his itinerary:
Patrick Labrie lost his life serving Canada. The least @JustinTrudeau could have done is show up and pay his respects. The Ottawa airport is literally a 20 minute drive from Trudeau’s residence.
But no, Trudeau decided to take another ‘personal’ day instead. Disgusting! pic.twitter.com/wlDAdAkVKW
— Canada Proud (@WeAreCanProud) June 26, 2019
On social media, many Canadians reacted with justified outrage, with people pointing out that Trudeau should have been there, and that taking a personal day instead is a disgrace.
While Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan was in attendance, Trudeau needed to be there as well. And it’s not like it was far away, considering that Trudeau was in Ottawa, and the repatriation of Labrie’s remains took place in Ottawa as well.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated example of Trudeau showing disrespect to the Canadian Armed Forces.
We all remember how Trudeau told Veterans they were “asking for more than we’re able to give right now,” even as he fought them in court (after promising not too), and even as he gave billions to foreign countries.
Trudeau also promised to bring back the Pension for Life, yet his promise turned out to reduce the support many Veterans will receive.
And while the Conservatives also often failed to help Veterans, it must be pointed out that Trudeau campaigned on doing better, and then broke that commitment once he had power.
So, we once again see that Trudeau’s priorities are broken and in many ways 100% the opposite of what Canadians value.
Spencer Fernando
